Tonsillotome



s. AQVAN'OSDEL. Y

TONSILLOTOME.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1920.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920,

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'IIIIIIIII/l/ A TTORNE Y.

SAMUEL A. VAN OSDEL, or Jomvson, iiEBRAs'KA.

' TONSILLOTOME.

To all 'zhhomc't may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL A. VAN- a citizen'ofthe United States, and aOsnEL,

- resident of Johnson, county of Nemaha, State of Nebraska,'haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tonsillotomes, of

.which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to surgical instruments for the removal ofportlons of tonsils 'or other relatively inaccessible parts and has forone of its objects the provislon of I an instrument of'this class whichwill have a powerful crushing action and a distinct cutting actionandcan be readily and effectively operated by one hand. A further objectof .the invention is the such an instrument which is 0 simpleconstruction, which may be readily d 1sassembled or assembled and whichcan be operatedwith a minimum of inconvenience to the patient. v

Further objects of the invention and the features of novelty will beapparent from the following specification when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which':- a j Figure 1,is a side elevationof an instrument embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of the instrument shown in'Fig. 1, but showing the parts in another position.

Fig. 3'is a transverse vertical sectlon on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isa fragmentary enlarged longitudinal section of the forward end of theinstrument.

Fig. 5 is a plan view ofthe instrument (1 fit between the side portlonsof the gulde flange 14 of the frame.

showing the operating members in retracte position, and v Fig. 6 1s anenlarged vertical cross sectlon on the line 6-6 of 1g. 4.

Referring to the drawings, thepresent embodiment of my inventioncomprises a base or frame member 11, having a handle 12 rigidlydepending therefrom, and preferably integral therewith. Thev main por-'-tion' of the frame is slender and its forward end is widened as shown inFig. 5 and provided with a fenestrum 13 to receive the member which isto be severed. The top of the frame 11 is flat exceptat its forward endwhere it is formed with a guide flange 14 which projects upwardly fromthe widened portion of the frame and is turned inwardly to provide meansfor guiding a hemostat blade 15 and a cutting blade 16. The

guide specificationpf Letters Patent.

Applicationfiled May 5, 1920. Serial 110. 379,032.

rovision of Patented Dec. '7, 1920.

flange 14 is continuedaround the end of the instrument'as shown in Fig.5, being preferably so, formed as to overlie the end of the hemostatblade 15 when it-is in its extreme forward position, and its inwardlydirected portion is preferably narrower adjacent the fenestruin, asshown at 17 to more readily receive the part to be severed.

The hemostat blade 15 -'s preferably of the same width as the main frame11 and is widened at its forward end to fit in the flanged portion ofthe frame. The end of the blade is rounded to correspond with thatsurface of the frame with which it cooperates in its extreme forwardposition, and the'rear portion of the blade is thickened and has arecess 18 in its lower side to receive an arm 19 of an operating-lever20 which is pivotally carried by the frame so as to swing to and fromthehandle 12. A pivot member 21 extends transversely through the arm 19and the thickened portion of the hemostat blade 15, and has a portionthereof which is extended forwardly and then curved over the hemostatblade 15,

the end of the curved portion having a pro- Theend of the blade isrounded to conform to the shape of the forward edge of,the frame 11, aslot 16* being formed in the frame 11 into which the cutting bladeextends when in its extreme forward position, and a cuitting edge isformed at the lower surface of the cutting blade 16 by beveling theendof the blade away from the hemostat blade 15 for a purpose which will bedescribed hereafter. A rigid projection 24 extends downwardly ,fromtherear end of the cutting blade 16 to facilitate reciprocation of theblade, the forward motion of the blade being limited by the engagementof the projection 24 with the frame 11, and the rear portion of theblade is slotted as shown at 25 toreceive the arm 19 of the operatinglever 20.

placed in position on the projection and rotated to the operativeposition shown. At its upper end the spring is slightly curved andfrictionally engages a curved surface 31 in the handle 12. /As theoperating lever 20 is moved toward the handle 12 it tends to rotateabout the point of engagement of the spring 28 with the surface '31, andthe bearing portions 26 will tend to roll on the rear-surfaces of theslots 27 from the full line position shown in'Fig. 1 'to a positionlower than that shown. in dotted lines in Fig. 2. By reason of thefrictional engagement of the spring with the surface 31, the lever 20and the operating blades 15 and 16 are resiliently held in theirlowermost positionthroughout the forward movement of the blades.

A latch 32 is pivotally mounted in a slot 33 in the handle 12 ontransversely extending pin 34; and is provided with teeth 35, forengagement with a tooth 36 on the end of the operating lever 20. Aspring 37 is mounted in a-slot 38 in the handle 12 and is held in placeby webs 39 which project inwardly from the sides of the'slot 38. The endof the spring 37 is slightly curved and is received in a slot 40 in thelatch 32,- the slot being sufficiently wide to permit the latch to beswung out of engagement with the spring, and the end of the latch isrounded as shown at 41 to engage the curved end of the spring and forceit away from the handle sufficiently to permit the latch to be swungback to operative position.

In use the instrument is grasped in either hand with the fingersengaging the operating handle 20, the parts bein in the position shownin Fig. 1. When t e instrument.

is in proper position relative to the tonsil or other part to besevered, the hemostat bar is forced forward with a powerful crushingaction by gripping the handle 12 and lever 20, the forward end of thebar cooperating with'the frame at the forward end of the fenestrum tocrush and practically sever the tonsil. The cutting blade 16 is carriedforward by the engagement of the arm 19 at the forward edge of the slot25, the extent of its movement bein almost as great as that of the blade15. I'he cutting blade 16 is then forced forward through the rest of itsstroke by engaging the thumb of the hand holding the instrument with thepro-.

jection 24, to sever the crushed member.

'It will be apparent that in this operation the -..beveled surface ofthe cuttingblade 16 will engage the surface of the crushed stump andwill have a further crushing and hemostatic action.

The instrument comprises but few parts,

and these are of simple construction and viating the danger of theinstrument slipping or twisting with consequent injury to the patient.The: operation of the. instrument does not necessitate moving any partof the hand in such away as to obstruct the view of the operator, andthe relatively sliding parts are so constructed as to operate withoutunnecessarily inconveniencing the patient.

WV'hile I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, itwill be understood that changes may be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit of the invention which isdefined in the appended claims.

1 claim is i g 1. A surgical instrument, comprising a frame member and ahandle therefor, a hemostat member carried by said frame, a cuttingmember carried by said frame for free sliding movementrelative to saidhemostat member, means operable by gripping movement of the handengaging said handle for reciprocatin said secondary cooperating member,and means for independently reciprocatin said cutting member.

2. A surgical lnstrument comprising a. frame member Land a handletherefor, a member pivoted for swingingmovement to- Ward and from saidhandle, a cutting member carried by said frame, a secondary cooperatingmember carried by said frame, said pivoted member cooperating w1th sa1dsecondary cooperating member to reciprocate it relatively to said frame,and means operable by the hand engaging said handle for reciprocatingsaid-cutting blade.

3. A surgical instrument comprising a frame, a handle member rigidtherewith, a second handle member movable toward and from said firstmentioned handle member, a crushing member carried by said frame, acutting member carried by said frame and slidable freely relative tosaid crushing member, said movable handle member cooperating with saidcrushing member to reclprocate it, and a rigid extension on said cuttingmember for engagement by the thumb of the hand engaging said handlemembers.

4. A surgical instrument comprising a Having thus described myinvention, what frame having an abutment thereon, a handle for saidframe, a hemostat blade slidably carried by said frame for cooperationwith said abutment, a cutting blade carried by said frame, means forreciprocating said cutting blade, and a lever fulcrumed for motion toand from said handle andpivotally .connected to said hemostat blade.

5. A surgical instrument comprising a frame having a handle projectingtherefrom and having an abutment thereon, a hemostat blade and a cuttingblade. slidably carried by said frame, each of said blades having aportion arranged to cooperate with said abutment, means forreciprocating sa d cutting blade, 'and a'member having a pin and slotpivotal connection With said handle and having an arm cooperating withsaid hemostat blade to reciprocate it.

6. A surgical instrumjent comprising a frame having an abutment thereon,a crushing memberfa-nd a cutting member slidably carried by said frame,means for independently reciprocating said members to move portionsthereof into cooperative relation with said abutment, said cuttingmember being beveled to form a cutting edge at that side thereof remotefrom the crushing member.

7. A surgical instrument comprising a frame, a crushing member and acutting -n1ember carried by said frame and freely slidable relativethereto, means for reciprocating said cutting member, a handle memberrigid with the frame, a second handle membermovable toward and from saidfirst mentioned handle member and cooperating with said crushing memberto reciprocate it relative to the frame, and a latch member carried byone of saidhandle membersand' cooperating with the other handle memberto prevent retraction of said crushing member.

8. A surgical instrument comprising a frame having a forwardlyprojecting por-' tion and a handleportion projectin therefrom, a cuttingmember carried y said frame, a secondary cooperating member ca'rried bysaid frame, means for reciprocating said cutting member, means forreciprocatlng said secondary cooperating member comprising a membermovable relative to the handle portion of said frame and having an armconnected to-said secondary cooperating member, and resihent meansopposing motion'of sald movable member toward said ,handle portion andcooperating with said movable member and said frame to hold saidsecondary cooperating member toward-said 7 frame.

9. A surgical instrument comprising a frame, a cutting blade shdablymounted on said frame, a secondary cooperatmg member carried by saidframe, means for recipro- SAMUEL A. VAN OS EL. v

